The Truth best kept hidden
by I the Dreamer
Summary: Based in between books 1 & 2, this exciting adventure leads most of the cast of Ranger's Apprentice on an incredible journey throughout Araluen full of suspense and treachery. No one should know their future, right? R&R so that this may continue.
1. John Flanagan

_((The Story you are about to read is based on The Ranger's Apprentice Book 1. Enjoy! I do not own Ranger's Apprentice!! Ranger's Apprentice and all its materials used in this story including the characters and some excerpts from the first book, Ranger's Apprentice Book 1: The Ruins of Gorlan, are exclusively entitled to John Flanagan (c) I'm just borrowing these pieces for effect)) _

Halt took up the book that Will had left on the floor after he had thrown it against the wall and stalked out of the cabin. He read the title, then reread it to make sure he wasn't missing anything. No, it still read those words. _Incredible_, he thought, as he settled into his favorite seat and turned to the first page.

* * *

"TRY TO EAT SOMETHING WILL. TOMORROW'S A BIG DAY,

after all."

Jenny, blond, pretty and cheerful, gestured toward Will's barely touched plate and smiled encouragingly at him. Will made an attempt to return the smile, but it was a dismal failure. He picked at the plate before him, ----- ((p.5, Ranger's Apprentice Book 1: The Ruins of Gorlan (c) John Flanagan, 2005))

* * *

Halt stared at the page, shut the book, and flipped it over.

* * *

HE HAD ALWAYS WANTED TO BE A WARRIOR. The Rangers, with their dark cloaks and shadowy ways, have always made him nervous. The villagers believe the Rangers practice magic that makes them invisible to ordinary people. And now fifteen-year-old Will, always small for his age, has been chosen as a Ranger's Apprentice. What he doesn't yet realize is that the Rangers are the protectors of the kingdom. Highly trained in the skills of battle and surveillance, they fight the battles before the battles reach the people. And as Will is about to learn, there is a large battle brewing. The exiled Morgarath, Lord of the Mountains of Rain and Night, is gathering his forces for an attack on the kingdom. This time, he will not be denied. . . . . ((this is from the back cover of the book. It's copyrighted for John Flanagan, I don't own it, I'm just borrowing it))

* * *

Halt gaped and almost threw it onto the floor. The book fell out of his grasp and landed on the floor with a soft thud. Will walked back in that moment, firewood in hand, but dropped it as soon as he saw Halt staring at the book.

"Creepy, huh? I saw it out on the front step and brought it in. I started to read it, but it just freaked me out too much." Will said. Halt glanced up at him.

"How could this John Flanagan have known everything we have done??" Halt asked Will.

"Don't look at me, Halt! I haven't seen anything!" Will shrugged.

"Will! Pull the curtains and shut the door." Will did so grudgingly. Halt pulled out his bow and stood against the far wall, peeking out of the covered window. "Quiet. Draw your bow, but slowly. Guard that window over there."

Will carefully did so, kicking the book out of his way as he went to the window.

"Don't touch the book!" Halt commanded.

"Stupid book." Will said, stepping over it and drawing his bow.

"Shh," Halt whispered.

"Halt?" Will asked.

"So many questions." Halt muttered to himself. "Yes, Will?"

"Are we being watched?"

Halt tried to keep his nerve about him as he put the curtain back into its rightful place.

"I don't know, Will. I just don't know."

"The book knows where we've been, Halt. It can read my thoughts, and yours!"

Halt sighed, trying to act like the whole thing was no big deal. "It's not the book, Will. It's this John Flanagan. He somehow has found out everything about us, even with us not knowing. We're going to need to find him, and put a stop to this. Everyone we know is in serious danger from Morgarath and his mysterious agent, Mr. John Flanagan."


	2. An Unknown Fear

**(((Before I start this chapter, I must again inform you readers that I do not own Ranger's Apprentice. It is exclusively entitled to the author John Flanagan, to which this entire story is dedicated. P.S. You do not have to read the Italitcs. Personally, I think it ruins the effect of the story. Please skip over them, but because of copyright I have to cite where I quoted this from. Plz enjoy!!!! Towards the end, it's quotes from many pages, all in bold typing. It's annoying to cite it all, but it's all from Ranger's Apprentice Book 1: The Ruins of Gorlan (c) John Flanagan 2005)))**

**"Sometime late in the afternoon, Halt finally ran out of jobs for Will. He looked around the cabin, noting the gleaming kitchen implements, the spotless fireplace, the thoroughly swept floor and the totally dust-free rug. A stack of firewood lay beside the fireplace and another stack, cut and split into shorter lengths, filled the wicker basket beside the kitchen stove."** _(Ch. 8 p. 55 Ranger's Apprentice Book 1: The Ruins of Gorlan (c) John Flanagan 2005)_

Halt paused, looking around the freshly cleaned cabin. It was spotless as always, but now the atmosphere seemed dark and menacing. He heard the breath of Will in his room, who was tossing and turning in a fitful sleep. Halt sat in his favorite chair and picked up the forbidden book. After all, a threat to the kingdom needed to be fully exposed before an attack could be made. He flipped to a random page and read.

**"'Intelligence is knowledge of what your enemies, or your potential enemies, are up to. What they're planning. What they're thinking. If you know what sort of thing in advance, you can usually some up with a plan to stop them....'"** (_Ch. 8 p. 58 Ranger's Apprentice Book 1: The Ruins of Gorlan (c) John Flanagan 2005)_

Halt sighed. _If only things were that simple._ he thought. How could he even find this John Flanagan? It was a complete mystery. If Morgarath would come and tell him exactly what was going on, there wouldn't be this war in the first place! Halt thought it all over, the war, Will, the world, even himself, and the effect John Flanagan would have on their daily lives if they knew what he has done. Halt flipped through the pages, scanning each of them quickly.

**"Horace dropped his pack on the floor of the dormitory and fell across the bed, groaning with relief."**

**"Will slid the short knife from the scabbard."**

**"Will was in the open meadow behind Halt's cottage, practicing."**

**"Will....saw the dark anger that burned deep in Halt's eyes.."**

Halt dropped the book into a pack on Abelard's saddle and signaled for Will to do the same.

"Halt," Will asked. "Where are we going?"

"To see Gilan, warn him. We're going to need his help, also. Something's----" Halt realized what he was saying.

**"Something's happened." Halt said quietly.**

"We need to leave. Now." Halt swung himself up onto Abelard and rode off, expecting Will to be doing the same. Less than a moment later, Will with Tug was beside him, and they both galloped away as fast as possible.

A few days later, they reached Gilan, who was scouting in Meric Fief, or so they had been told.

"Gilan!" Will called, waving his arm at the lone ranger. Without even a glance up, Gilan galloped away as if he was fleeing for his life. "Gilan!!!" Will called again.

"Will, go after him. I'll come around the front and we'll corner him." Halt ordered. Before Halt had even finished speaking, Will had taken off after the quickly vanishing figure. Abelard and Halt headed east, knowing exactly the route which Gilan would take.

In moments, Will was tailing Gilan. Will couldn't see Halt anywhere, or hear his approach. Gilan pushed Blaze as hard as he would go, but Blaze was tired, as Tug was gaining ground. The wind whistled in Will's ears and his cloak flapped wildly in the wind as he pursued Gilan, getting closer and closer. Gilan rode into a steep canyon, and Will followed closely, but kept his distance for safety purposes. At the bottom of the canyon, Gilan banked right, towards a narrow pass leading eastward. Suddenly, Halt on Abelard's back rode out of the pass, blocking it from Gilan. Blaze reared and turned to the left, but Will on Tug was already there, bow poised.

"Gilan, we need to talk with you." Halt said as Abelard and Tug circled the rearing Blaze.

"Alright, alright! Just don't point that bow at me, Will." Gilan calmed Blaze. "What's so important?"

"Why did you run from us?" Will asked.

"These are dangerous times, Will. I thought--" Gilan stuttered.

"Who were you supposedly running from?" Halt asked quietly.

"I thought you guys were Him. The man who gave me this cursed book!" Gilan pulled out an identical copy of the book in Abelard's pack. Will gasped.

"Gilan, we need to talk to you about that book. We received one too." Halt pulled out his identical copy.

"I figured, you know, I could just get away from my usual places, it wouldn't be able to find me." **Gilan looked up, concern in his voice,** then realized what had just happened. "This book knows what's going to happen to us, to everyone! It knows everything!"

"I know." Halt replied.

"Well, what are we going to do about it?" Will asked the two rangers.

"We need to warn everyone." Gilan said. "The more that know, the better we are prepared."

"I disagree." Halt replied. "We tell no one else except Baron Arald and Sir Rodney. We need their help in this matter."

"To keep everyone else in the dark? Halt, the book mentions a lot of important people that could be in serious danger. Especially friends of Will. The young people are in extreme danger from the book." Gilan argued.

"The book will only scare them. We need them to do what the book says they will do. If all the events fall into place exactly as they are supposed to, then we can easily outwit it and be able to attack this John Flanagan." Halt said.

"I've been wondering about him. Who is he, anyway, that he puts his signature on the book?" Gilan asked as he examined the front cover. "He must be very arrogant and self-assured."

"I've been thinking..." Will started to say.

**Halt and Gilan looked at him, then looked at each other, and said in chorus: **

** "You're an apprentice. You're not ready to think."**

Usually this would call for a smile by all, but today the mood was grim. The silence that replaced the unspoken laughter made Gilan and Will uncomfortable. Halt realized what had happened.

"We need to stop this from happening anymore." he said quietly.

"I agree." Gilan replied. "The book is beginning to come true. Have you read _all_ of it, Halt?"

"Just bits and pieces, but I've read enough." Halt said, putting the book back into its rightful place.

"What about Will?" Gilan asked, gesturing to Will, who was sitting silently in the saddle.

"I've read plenty of it." Will replied immediately.

"Read the ending??" Gilan asked in return.

"No." Halt replied for Will. "No one is meant to know their future."

"I feel empowered." Gilan said. "I can tell the future. Even prevent some of it from happening. Like, I could prevent some people from dying!"

"Who's going to die??" Will asked.

Gilan blushed. "No one." Halt said. "Nothing we need to know about."

"We could prevent it, you know." Gilan said.

"If it's supposed to happen, it will." Halt replied. "We should get going so we may reach the Baron in time. We need to figure out what to do with the book. Also, Will, give Horace a visit. We're going to need him as well."

The trio rode off towards Castle Redmont, unaware of what they were getting themselves into....

**Morgarath, Lord of the Mountains of Rain and Night, former Baron of Gorlan in the Kingdom of Araluen, looked over his bleak, rainswept domain... **This day was turning out to be pretty good for him, despite the weather. He watched the Wargals training in the muddy landscape below. Fifteen years' work was all coming together now. He picked up the book from the window ledge, flipped to the back of it, and read:

**Forty meters away, the huge evil creature was satisfying its need for triumph, its screams rolling and echoing through the night as it stood over the two bodies--Halt, unconscious, Baran Arald in a daze of pain. **

_Yes_, Morgarath thought. _Yes, Halt will die, and I will rule and get back my kingdom for the last time. Araluen will fall, as will the Ranger Corps, which this book has been kind enough to give me all the secrets about. Finally, all will be avenged._

** The time was ripe. Once again, he would lead his Wargals into an attack. But this time he would have allies. And this time he would sow the ground with uncertainty and confusion beforehand. This time none of those who conspired against him previously would be left alive to aid King Duncan.... The time was right... **


	3. What can a book know?

_(((The exerpts in this chapter is exclusively from Ranger's Apprentice Book 2: the Burning Bridge; Ranger's Apprentice Book 3: The Icebound Land (c) John Flannagan, 2005)))_

Horace sat back, relaxed, and began to read, a strange thing for Horace to do.

**...Horace, however, was still a little in awe of the tall young Ranger. Will eventually realized that, by teasing him, Gilan was doing his best to set Horace at ease, making sure that he didn't feel left out...**

**** "Like that would ever happen..." Horace mumbled. "Bloody rangers."Horace skipped a few pages until he saw his name again. **.**

**...Gilan picked up his sword and scabbard from where they lay beside his saddle. He withdrew the slender, shining blade from its plain leather receptacle. There was a faint hiss as it came free and the blade seemed to dance in the shifting firelight.**

** "Not Ranger skills, my boy. Combat skills. Heaven knows, we'll need them as sharp as possible before too long. There's a war coming, you know." He regarded the heavy set boy before him...**

"Now wait a minute!" Horace said, looking down at himself. "What kind of book is this? And what is this Ranger character doing with a sword?" He sighed, and took back to reading. It was getting interesting.

**...with a critical eye. "Now, let's see what you know about that toothpick you're wearing."**

** "Oh, right!" said Horace, sounding a little more please about this turn of events.**

"Bloody book!" Horace said, throwing it down on his bed. "Makes me look like a moron..." he mumbled, picking it up and stuffing it under his pillow.

Suddenly, someone came knocking on his door.

"Who is it?" Horace asked, standing up and going to the door.

"Horace, let me in! There's something you should know!" the muffled voice said. Horace unlatched the door and Will stumbled in.

"YOU!" Horace said, a bit angry from the bit of book he'd read.

"Now, Horace..." Will said, backing up with his hands out. "This is really important. Have you received a book recently?"

"A book?" Horace said, glancing at his bed.

"Horace, where's the book?" Will asked suspiciously.

"What book?" Horace asked.

"Horace, the book is dangerous! No one is meant to know the future."

"What do you want with it? Jealous?"

"Horace, no. It's dangerous, you shouldn't be reading it!"

Horace inched over to his bed and began to reach under the pillow.

"HORACE, GIVE ME THE BOOK!"

"NO!" Horace said, stuffing the large book under his shirt.

"Wait!" Will said. "Do you hear that noise?"

**"Noise?" Horace asked,** distracted. **"What noise?"**

Will looked up, and Horace followed suit. Horace couldn't hear anything, and suddenly, the book was ripped from his hands.

"Hey!" Horace said as Will jumped out of his reach. "Give it back!"

"Horace, you really need to come with us. We're going to see Baron Arald. He should know about the book too." Will said.

"Can I keep my book?"

"NO!"

"... an adventure?"

"Yes.. a dangerous mission. We're tracking down the author of this cursed book." Will said.

"I'm in."

Baron Arald walked into his office to find a package sitting precariously on his desk and the wind blowing parchments around from the open window. Funny, he thought, I don't remember the window being open. He shrugged, closed the window, and picked up the package. It was strangely heavy for the size of it. He sighed, exhausted from the mountains of paperwork on either side of him, and now also all over the floor, and untied the string on the package. He was just about to open it when a knock came from the door.

"Come in!" he called, still fiddling with the string. "I said come in!" The Baron looked up, frustrated with the confounded string.

**Halt stood there, clad in his gray-and-green mottled cloak, his face half hidden in the shadows of the deep cowl. It was uncanny, the Baron thought, how the man could appear almost without a sound.** The Baron jumped. "Ah... Halt." the Baron said. "Uh, what is it?" Curse this string, he thought, pulling out a letter-opener and cutting it.

"If I may ask, what is that package in your hand?" Halt asked quietly.

"Your guess it as good as mine." the Baron replied, unwrapping the paper to discover a large blue book in his hands. Halt showed not a hint of surprise.

"May I see it?" Halt asked as Baron Arald began to open it.

"Of course, of course." he said, shutting the book and handing it across the desk. Halt flipped through the pages to scan a random one.

**There was a wolfship anchored offshore. At the water;s edge, a group of people were boarding a small boat and, even at this distance, Halt recognized the small figure in the middle as his apprentice.**

** "Will!" he shouted, but the sea wind snatched the words away. With hands and knees, he urged Abelard onward... **

** Will, seated beside Evanlyn in the center of the boat... saw Halt, barely two hundred meters away... "Halt!" he yelled...**

** ...The wind, which had stopped them from hearing Halt's cry, carried the boy's thin shout to Halt's ears. Abelard heard it too and found a few more yards of pace, his muscles gathering underneath him and sending him along in huge bounds. Halt was riding without reins now as he unslung the longbow and laid an arrow on the string. **

** At a full gallop, he sighted and released...**

"Dear Lord..." Halt said quietly, shutting the book. "Baron, there's something you should know."

"Give me the book." the Baron said, **tugging thoughtfully at his short beard.** Halt reluctantly handed it over. The Baron flipped through the book to a page and began to read

**"...But perhaps I might have a suggestion that might ease the problem with Halt." **

** The Baron seized the lifeline eagerly. "That's splendid, my lady, splendid!" **

"Baron?" Halt asked. The Baron looked up from the book, amused. "You're not the only one with a book. I have one," Halt pulled a book out of his cloak. " which Will found, Gilan has one," Gilan popped his head through the doorway, waved, and disappeared from sight. "and now apparently you have one as well as Horace, who refused to give his up." Halt shrugged. "It's a complicated matter, to say the least."

**He**, the Baron, **considered the matter for some seconds, then said thoughtfully; "You know, it might be a good idea if you were to have a talk with him. **Horace, that is.**"**

**...Again, the Ranger shrugged. "I can't see why." he replied mildly.** "Will got it from him after an argument. Smart boy, Will. Back to the matter at hand: the book knows everything."

"The book? What can a book know? It's a book!" the Baron said outright.

"Well..." Halt began... "It's a long story."


	4. The Danger of Reading

_(((The exerpts in this chapter is exclusively from Ranger's Apprentice Book 2: the Burning Bridge; _

_Ranger's Apprentice Book 3: The Icebound Land (c) John Flanagan, 2005)))_

"... What do you mean it's coming true as we speak?" The Baron asked the grizzled ranger who was seated across from him. "That's impossible!"

"If you don't believe me, look in the back of it." Halt replied mildly.

"I can see what that would prove. The back of it is blank."

Still, to satisfy Halt, Baron Arald turned to the back of the book and began to read.

_The Baron, stunned, read quickly over the pages again and again. Every time he glanced at the bottom of the page, there seemed to be a little more to the story, an extra phrase or line that words were being written on as he stared. It was impossible, wasn't it? No, the Baron concluded, Halt's presumptions seemed to be true. _

_ Halt glanced at the Baron with slight worry. He supposed it was a bit much to take on at once, but better this way than explaining over and over again to a skeptic._

The Baron looked up at Halt, who's gaze seemed to shift back to the floor. He shut the book that was still being written and placed it on the desk. "Halt?" The Baron asked with concern.

"Yes?"

"How many of these books are in existence?"

Halt sighed and thought for a moment as the Baron kept on talking. "... I mean, good Lord! What would happen if Morgarath got a hold on one? He'd know what we were planning as we did it! And the King! We must warn King Duncan of the situation. He'd want something to be done about it immediately. This is a disaster! The effects from all this could result in many severe consequences. Who is handing out these books in the first place, anyway?" Baron Arald began to pace across the room, still muttering to himself everything that could happen. "The war. What would happen if a war was to break out? What if our enemies have one? Who all knows about this book business, anyway?"

Halt watched as the Baron, usually calm in the most severe circumstances, began to outwardly show everything going on in his mind. "Baron?" Halt asked.

"What?" Baron Arald snapped, then calmed. "What is it?"

"We have a suspect."

"You do? Who? Where is he? Have you caught him?"

"No, no, not any of that. All we know is that he delivered at least two books and has an annoying tendency to scrawl his name on the covers of them. Look at the front of your book." Halt said quietly. The Baron did so. "John Flanagan." he said. "The nerve of a man. He is both arrogant and a coward."

"We thought that as well." Halt replied quietly. "This book knows things that we don't know about ourselves. Somehow it has things that haven't happened, terrible events yet to occur, and this John Flanagan is our only link to its existence. I'd advise against reading it; it tells terrible tales."

The Baron sat at his desk and studied the cover. "What do we do with it, if John Flanagan is long gone?"

"I'm personally in favor of burning it. If things are to occur, for better or for worse, than they will. No one should know when or what lies in the future." Halt thought back to his several readings with severe concern for his young apprentice. If anything, Will must not read that God-forsaken book. Never.

"But if we know who is going to die, than why can't we assure that it doesn't happen?" Baron asked. "It could help us, save innocent lives." He flipped through the written pages. "It is tempting to be a hero, isn't it?"

"The story revolves around the young people, especially Will, Alyss, and Horace. It involves you, me, the Ranger Corps, Sir Rodney, Lady Pauline, the King, and his family, which, in effect, means Araluen as a whole. Some will live, and some will die. Knowing what will happen to them will not help us in the least. We can't be everywhere at once. We can't help the young people anymore than we can help ourselves. This book only exists to mock us as a whole. It laughs at our humanity and shows us what could happen at our expense. Why do you want that to be lying around for someone to take it up and read?" Halt replied. "Heroes are heroes because of what they do when action is needed. It is what they do unexpectedly that makes them courageous. No hero should know their fate, because it will change as they change. The book is constantly rewriting itself. The story changes every few phrases. The future is so uncertain. The book, if anything, is a thing of change. It writes what we do and, currently, what we might do later, but we can change it at will. We don't need to be bound to something. Our lives are not written pages waiting to be fulfilled but blank pages waiting to be written in."

"Very wise, Halt," Baron Arald replied. "but there is still a problem with that. The book is still out there, writing itself, and there are those who have either read it or will soon read it. Our mysterious messenger is out there delivering them and stirring up panic among people. He must be stopped at all costs, for the sake of Araluen."

"I agree. My only concern is how much of the book is accurate. It is coming true every moment. Every plan we make somehow finds its way into the book's pages. Even if we change it, the book has it. John Flanagan must be something or someone among us, watching and writing down everything. He has some power that allows him to write in several things at once almost simultaneously. He is zealous of his work, powerful with his words, and is unseen by us, at least for now. We will find him, if we can." Halt said.

"Yes, I will send someone to alert the king of your latest plan along with this book business. If you'd care to-" The Baron looked up to find an empty study. "Oh.. never mind then." The Baron sat back in his chair. We? Halt certainly wasn't considering tracking this man with just his apprentice, was he?


End file.
